Consumer electronics body forms separate council for mobile industry

CEAMA president and Panasonic India and South Asia managing director Manish Sharma said the local component ecosystem is still not fully in place.Writankar Mukherjee | ET Bureau | March 28, 2016, 12:41 IST

The above items constitute about 10% to 30% of the cost of mobile manufacturing depending upon the nature of the mobile handset.KOLKATA: Consumer Electronics and Appliances Manufacturers Association (CEAMA), the apex industry body for the consumer electronics and home appliances industry in India, has formed a formed a separate council for the mobile industry, including telecom equipment and mobile phone makers.

The council in collaboration with other industry associations will present an industry consensus view to the government on crucial issues pertaining to the growth and development of the Indian mobility industry. It will also support the government's initiative to promote manufacturing in India.

CEAMA president and Panasonic India and South Asia managing director Manish Sharma said the local component ecosystem is still not fully in place, resulting into dependency on international machineries and mechanisms. "Therefore, the industry should be given an opportunity to build the ecosystem and encourage initiatives being taken in this area. We believe the new mobile and communication council will appropriately connect and able to propagate the recommendations of industry players to government and policy makers," he said.

The council is also pressing the need to the government to withdraw the basic customs duty, countervailing duty and special additional duty levied on charger, adapter, battery and wired headsets/speakers in the recent union budget. At present the domestic mobile manufacturer pays 29% as customs duty on these accessories and 2% levy in respect of populated PCBs, whereas on the other hand importers of mobile CBU have to pay only 12.5% on the same inputs. The above items constitute about 10% to 30% of the cost of mobile manufacturing depending upon the nature of the mobile handset. This impact is being felt by all major manufacturers and such anomalies will adversely affect the make in India initiative, the council feels.

The council will strive to facilitate formation of an ecosystem that provides a nurturing policy, regulatory and legal framework for the industry, said Ravinder Zutshi, chairman, CEAMA - Mobile and Communications Council.